


Royals and Rumors

by Dinonid123



Series: Dreemurrs Reunited [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Asgoriel, Bad Puns, CORE lore, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Silly old goats, Undertale AU, Yeah they're pan keep scrolling, this is a funny pun heck off
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2020-07-09 00:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19878940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinonid123/pseuds/Dinonid123
Summary: Asgore and Toriel have reunited after only three humans had fallen, but what will unfold in the month after?





	1. Reaction

There is certainly something interesting about being king of a small kingdom. I know almost everyone, or at least I did. I had started slacking in my tours of the Underground after Toriel left, but I still did my best to know most of the monsters. As I stood on the balcony with Toriel, our paws interlocked, I looked out at my subjects as they slowly left the courtyard below. I recognized most of them, but it worried me how many I didn’t know. Some of them I could guess who their parents were, even if they weren’t standing near them. I felt… afraid, in a way. What if one day the kingdom became too big for me to know everyone? What if I lose touch with the people? Will I become a bad king? The humans seemed to think that kings were awful and out of touch now, based on the books that turn up in the dump… what if I became out of touch with them? I want to be a good king. I have done my best for almost 900 years. Oh gods, I’m 905 years old. Gods I’m _so old,_ I –

“Gorey? You okay?” Toriel’s voice startled me out of my thoughts. “Are you ready to go down and talk with everyone?” 

“Y...yes, I’m fine, I’m fine, Tori.” I turned to her and squeezed her paw. She looked at me, confused. 

“You sure? You looked like you were frozen.” 

“Oh. I was just thinking… about things. But yes! Let’s go talk to everyone.” I went to hurry off, but Toriel stepped in front of me. 

“Asgore. What’s wrong?” 

“N...Nothing, Tori! I’m fine!” She narrowed her eyes.

“Asgore, you’re easier to read than a picture book. Something’s wrong, dear.” I sighed.

“Fine, something’s wrong. Can we talk later?” Toriel sighed and ruffled my hair, smiling. 

“There you go. Come on, let’s go cheer you up, okay?” I smiled weakly, and pulled her into a hug.

“Hugs first.” Toriel laughed into my chest, and wrapped her arms around me.

“You’re such a softie, Gorey.” I chuckled, and kissed her forehead.

“Well I’m your softie, right?” I let go of her, and she grabbed my paw again.

“Of course. Now, let’s go!” I smiled and nodded, and we walked off down the stairs to the courtyard. 

The second we left the castle, we were swarmed by a group of monsters. Many were friends of Toriel’s, excited to see her again. I let her drift to talk to them, while I talked to a group (of mostly children) asking me who Toriel was and why everyone was so happy to see her. I smiled and told them she was just my wife, and that she had been busy for a few years. They seemed to be fine with that, and immediately shifted to asking me for tea or to pick them up. It seemed like all children enjoyed being held up high, and who was I to not help them have a little fun? After I had picked up a couple, the line began to grow, as if all the children in the area had been attracted to it like magnets. I chuckled and glanced at Toriel. She was talking to Fumi, but when she noticed that I was looking at her, she looked back and chuckled. I gave her a thumbs up, and she smiled and gave one back. I went back to playing with the children. It was probably half an hour before the last parents had come to collect their kids and head home. Most of them seemed pretty reluctant to leave, but I promised I’d visit the school next week, and that seemed to placate them. Once they finally left, someone hugged me from behind.

“Guess who~?” Toriel said in a sing-songy tone. 

“Hmm, it’s an absolute mystery.” I laughed and grabbed her paws, spinnign myself around to face her. “Oh, it’s my beautiful queen!”

“Of course it is, my handsome king!” She grinned, stretching up on her toes to give me a kiss. 

“Well, did you enjoy talking to everyone?” 

“Definitely. I missed a lot of these monsters. Some nearly as much as you.” She chuckled. “You certainly were enjoying yourself with the children, hunh?”

“Oh yes, they do take a liking to me, do they not?”

“They were climbing you like a tree!”

“I am tall enough to be a tree, aren’t I?” I laughed and kissed her forehead. “Half of them are shorter than my knees! 

“You’re a very cuddly tree, too.” She laughed. “You’re a _fur_!” 

“Oh ho ho! That’s a good one!” I laughed, then leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. “That’s my clever little queen, my Tori, my cute comic—”

“G-Gorey!” She began giggling uncontrollably. “Dear, dear, that tickles!” She began blushing furiously. 

“Aww, but you love it, I know you do, my beautiful rose, don’t you?” I continued nuzzling her, planting kisses across her face, giggling and blushing myself. It’d been so long since I’d been able to do this, to show my affection in the goofiest way I know how. Not thinking, just letting my heart admire her as much as it wanted. 

“Was… was that… a pun?” She managed to slip out in between giggles. “You’re learning!”

“Well, I do have the best teacher in the world, don’t I?” 

“Oh, you… flatterer!” She pushed me away, so I stopped kissing her. “Okay, that’s enough, laughing is starting to hurt.”

“Alright, alright. Don’t wanna hurt my Tori, of course!” I laughed and pulled her into a hug. “Is that better?” 

“Yes, yes, this is fine.” She nuzzled my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my chest. “Much better.”

“So, what would you like to do now? Take a walk, perhaps?”

“A walk sounds wonderful, dear. Around the capital?” 

“Of course. Where to first, Tori?” 

“Hmm… Hammertown, maybe?” She pulled back, smiling. “I’m in the mood to see some smithing.” 

“Sounds good to me, dear!” I stepped back and bowed with my paw out. “Now, will you join me in a promenade around the town, my queen?” Toriel laughed and took my paw.

“Why of course I will, my king!” I stood up and smiled at her.

“Well then, off we go!” I grinned and began running, pulling her with me.

“G...Gorey!” She sped up to match my pace, and together we ran off to Hammertown.

Hammertown was the smithing district on the northern side of the capital, inhabited by a mix of fire-based, fire magic-having, and half-dragon monsters. It sits on top of a lava bubble from Hotland, and that heat is used to power the forges there. I named it after Gerson, who was the first to find it when we were exploring the area. I say I named it, but I had wanted to call it “Gersontown,” it was Toriel who said that “Hammertown” worked in two ways, and convinced me to call it that. But returning to the subject of the district itself, it was full of workshops, and normally the sound of metal clashing against metal filled the air. As we approached the district, waving and saying hello to the various monsters we passed, the noise began to get louder and louder. We passed the gate into the district, and a voice called us over the pounding. 

“Hey! Toriel, Asgore!” 

“Oh, hello, Fitaby!” I smiled at the fire-covered half-dragon. Toriel laughed and waved at them excitedly. 

“Fitaby! It’s been a while! You… you look great!” 

“Aw, thanks Riel! You haven’t aged a day, now have ya?” Fitaby chuckled and dashed over to us. “Now, where’s my hug?” Toriel smiled and pulled Fitaby into a big hug, blushing.

“Right there!” The pair laughed, and held each other for a few seconds. Fitaby pulled back and looked over at me. 

“Hey, get over here, ya big fluffball!” They flashed their teeth in a grin. I smiled back and wrapped the two of them in a big hug. Fitaby was an old friend of ours, we had met them when Asriel was a child. They were actually his first babysitter. They were in their early twenties then, and they bonded with us very quickly. After the children… died, I stopped seeing them as much, but it was still nice to see them on occasional walks I managed to get myself to take. 

“So how have you been, Vita?” Toriel said, breaking the hug.

“Pretty good! I… well I have a husband and a kid now, so that’s nice!” They blushed and rubbed their fiery hair. “Fidon’s the best husband I could have ever asked for, and Grillby’s a great son. Well, the best you can expect from a 12 year old.” They chuckled.

“Grillby? Isn’t that the name of the new diner in Snowdin?” Toriel asked.

“Yeah, Fidon runs it! He named it after him. Grillby acts embarrassed if ya ask him, but I know he thinks it’s cool.” 

“Well, that’s great! Is that where they are?” 

“Yeah! Well, Grill’s at school, but Fidon’s there.” 

“And what are you doing, Fitaby?” I asked. 

“Me? Ah, I’m just working on a sword for Grill’s birthday! I promised I’d make him one eventually, so I figured this was a great time. I had to let it cool for a bit today, so I went to see your speech during that. Pretty good job, you two.” They laughed and hit our arms playfully. “So, what brings you here?”

“Oh, we’re just taking a walk. I have to get used to being in the capital again, after all. It’s nice to see old friends, too!” 

“Hell yeah it is! It’s nice seeing you around again, Riel!” They smiled, then leaned up and ruffled Toriel’s hair, and she turned red in response. “I should get back to my work. Call me later, though! I’d love to introduce you to Fidon and Grillby in person! Dinner maybe?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah! I’d love dinner! With Asgore and I! Yeah, what’s your number?” She was clearly somewhat flustered, so I chuckled and stepped in. 

“Tori, I have her number. I’ll give it to you when we get home, alright? Thanks for the invitation, Fitaby. See you later!” 

“See ya later, your majesties!” They waved, and walked off back to their forge. 

“S...See you later, Vita!” Toriel sputtered out, before turning to me and whispering, “Okay, let’s go.” I chuckled and took her paw, leading us down the road. We walked in silence for a while, her face still as red as Fitaby’s scales. I kept shooting her knowing glances, and she’d look away and press her head against my shoulder. After we turned toward the edge of the district, I finally broke the silence. 

“So, you still like them, don’t you~?” I said in a sing-songy tone.

“What? No! They’re married now!” She blushed and looked away. “I… I want to get our relationship back to normal, first!” 

“You do~!” I laughed and kissed her forehead. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered, dear!” 

“I...no… you’re cute when you’re flustered!” She paused for a second, recognizing what she said, and then we looked directly at each other. I stared into her eyes for a moment, and then we burst out laughing. 

“Gods, Tori, you are _hopelessly adorable.”_

“Hell yeah I am!” She snorted and her blush began to fade. “Alright, where to next?” 

“Well, you want to go and check on Gaster?”

“Oh. We should probably do that, shouldn’t we?”

“Well, to the lab we go!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the series continues! Sorry it's been... almost 3 months? I got some bad writer's block, but here it is! We have a new character, Fitaby! The local buff enby blacksmith, grandparent of the Grillby you know and love (Actually Grillby Jr., their son is Grillby Sr.) Toriel has a weakness for buff people who are affectionate, doesn't she? But anyway, off to Gaster they go! Wonder what he's up to, hunh?
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


	2. Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore and Toriel check on their royal scientist and his progress on the CORE.

Gaster’s lab was down the road from the castle, towards Hotland. We made our way there, waving at the people we passed. Tori was still blushing a little, and I loved looking at her. She was so cute, with the soft pink across her cheeks and little smile on her face. I missed seeing her, happy to be with me. I smiled, and hooked my arm through hers. She smiled and leaned against me, chuckling. 

“Gorey~, what are you doing?”

“Oh, just taking my queen’s arm. Nothing too surprising.” I smiled and kissed her cheek. 

“Oh! You little…” She smirked and her blush spread. “You’re lucky we’re in public, you big dork…” 

“Oh, am I now?” I giggled. “Well, you’re just going to have to wait, because it’s time to talk to Gaster!”

“Oh, I’m so excited for that.” She sighed. “Has he… been so… like that, for very long?” We stopped walking, stopping right in front of his lab door. 

“Tired? Exhausted? Ever since he started working on the CORE. He’s dedicated his whole life to that project… I worry about him. A lot.” I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. “I’ve been trying to get him to sleep more but he… refuses. I guess I can work on that more now, I owe it to him.” 

“Owe it to him?” She tilted her head.

“Yes, don’t you remember what he said? He’s checked in on me, for the last few years. I’ve been… a bit… sad… you know?” She nodded, and sighed.

“Sorry again, about that…”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, dear. But regardless, I think making sure I was okay was one of the few things that got him out of the lab. But now that I feel better, I can start checking in on him!” She smiled at me, and snickered a little bit. “What’s so funny?”

“You’ve just got the goofiest smile when you’re all excited. It makes you look so adorable... I missed it.” I chuckled back and kissed her forehead. 

“Why thank you, dear. I hope you get to see it a lot now, to make up for that.” She snuggled up against me, laughing.

“I sure hope I do! It looks so good on you…” She blushed and sighed. “I love you so much..”

“I love—” Suddenly, we jumped at the sound of a large bang in the lab. We had about three seconds to look at each other in surprise before the door burst open. 

“Gotta go tell… oh. Oh! Your majesty!” Gaster blurted out, looking extremely disheveled, perhaps even more than normal. His glasses were askew, and judging by how he was holding his head, it was what had caused the bang. He blushed slightly, rubbing his right eye. “I… I need to talk to you. Do you want to come inside? Oh, and Toriel too, I guess.” We looked at each other, Toriel’s face full of worry. We nodded, and I turned back to him.

“Of course. We were actually here to visit you, so this is perfect timing!” He nodded, a weak smile crossing his face. 

“Great. Well, come in. Ignore the mess, I… I don’t get visitors.” He half-laughed, and turned to go back inside. I looked back at Toriel, and she moved close to me. 

“Does he… know anyone else?” She whispered. “I… I feel that he knows only you and no one else.” 

“I…” I pondered it for a moment, racking my mind for anything I knew about Gaster’s family. “I think he may not. His mother’s dead, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk about anyone else. He’s very reclusive.”

“Ah. Well… let us see what he wants.” She frowned, looking at the door sadly. “I hope he’s alright.” I looked up at it with her, frowning as well.

“I do too.”

We entered the lab cautiously, and looked around. It had been a while since I had been there, and it seems like it had only gotten worse since then. The tables were stacked with papers, there was a blackboard covered in hastily-written math equations, and his couch had a few blankets and pillows messily thrown on it. Gaster had ran over to his little kitchen area and was frantically clearing all the papers and dishes off it. He chuckled weakly and gestured at the chairs around it. 

“Sit, sit please. Sorry again for the mess, I wasn’t…” 

“Golly, Gaster.” I interrupted sternly. “It’s alright. You don’t need to be so apologetic.” He blushed as he sat down.

“Okay… thank you.” Toriel and I sat down across from him as he took a deep breath. “Alright. First, perhaps I should explain the CORE to her majesty.” Toriel nodded.

“Yes. I’m curious about what it is.” She smiled at him reassuringly, and it was clear that she was trying to calm him down.

“Alright then. The CORE uses the existing geothermal plant we’ve been using to power the kingdom for the last century and its connection to Hotland’s lava flow to produce even more energy for the expanding population. It converts the energy of the liquid rock into a sort of plasma, which powers the water turbine. The solid rock then goes back into the lava, and returns back to the lava. The plasma is stored for a while, then returns to the lava as well. In theory, the lava level and temperature shouldn’t be affected too much, but our power production would increase dramatically. However, I need the approval of you two to test it first, which will require an evacuation of Hotland for a bit just to make sure no one would get hurt if it malfunctioned. I would like to do a few tests, to be absolutely sure that it’s safe, before calling it complete.” Gaster spoke remarkably clearly, and I was reminded of just how much he cared about his project. He had devoted so much time to this, and he was clearly very interested in his work. Though I didn’t really understand what he was saying, Toriel was clearly very interested and know exactly what he was talking about. She was always the smarter one, she must have inherited that from her father.

“Oh, that sounds amazing! I approve of it all the way, though perhaps this is still more Asgore’s call. As for testing, when would you plan to do that?” She chuckled. “Wouldn’t want to do that without notice!”

“I was planning for December? It’s two months from now, if I work hard then I can be ready…” I glared at him.

“Gaster. You need to rest.” He blushed again, and rubbed his eye. 

“Yes, yes, you’re right. End of January, beginning of February then. Before my 34th birthday, is that a better goal, Asgore?” I chuckled. 

“Yes, it is. We can set that in stone in the new year. And I’m going to start making sure you get enough sleep, alright? I care about you, Gaster. I don’t want you to break yourself.” Gaster’s blush burned deeper, the soft purple covering his cheeks.

“Oh, alright… I’d try. For you.” Toriel smiled up at me, shooting me a thumbs up. I stifled a chuckle. “Okay, that’s everything I wanted to tell you. Would… you like to see how it looks right now?” Gaster smiled, and his voice actually seemed more confident. 

“Oh, of course! Unless Asgore doesn’t want to.” Toriel chuckled. “Do you, dear?”

“I’d love to! I’d like to see what you’ve been up to, Gaster.”

“Good! Let’s get out of here.” Gaster shot up and ran over to the back door of the lab. “There’s a shortcut back here. It’s much cleaner in there, let’s get there as fast as possible!” I giggled.

“Gaster, it’s honestly not that bad. I’ve seen worse rooms in my life. It can be… a lot worse.” Toriel chuckled, realizing what I was talking about. 

“Oh, you’re very right. Oh gods, that was bad.” Gaster looked at us laughing together, and I could see his smile break for a second before he chuckled softly. 

“Are we going or not, you two?” 

“Yes, yes, we’re coming.” Toriel smiled and grabbed my hand. 

I led her over to the door, and Gaster opened it for us. He ran around us so he could lead us. We walked down a short path to a staircase, which led right down into the CORE. It was still covered with scaffolding, though most of the exterior structure had been finished recently. He lead us inside, and down a path that was elevated over a large pit. Gaster explained that this is where the plasma would go, and that it would likely be pretty dangerous to come in contact with. I asked him if he was going to add handrails, and through his nervous laugh followed by a short “Yes,” I could tell he forgot about that, and quickly added it to his plan. As we walked through the whole building, Toriel asked him a lot of technical questions, which I could not follow, but judging by his enthusiasm, I could tell they were getting along. It made me happy to see them talking to each other, Gaster’s frustration with her seemed to have fully disappeared. I piped in occasionally, but mostly just listened to them talking. As we made our way back around to where we came in, he pointed out an open space with a modified Delta Rune over it. 

“I was planning on putting in an elevator right up to the road in front of the castle, so you can come down and check on it easily. It’ll be nice and convenient for you, alright?” Gaster smiled and adjusted his glasses. 

“Sounds great, Gaster! We’ll see you around, alright?” Toriel smiled. 

“Oh, yes, we will! I’ll check on you tomorrow, okay?” I chuckled and opened my arms for him. 

“Hug, Gaster?” He blushed furiously, then nodded and hugged me tightly. His hugs were normally somewhat cold (he was a skeleton, after all) but this one felt… warm. Toriel giggled and hugged him too, taking the opportunity to kiss my cheek over his shoulder. I gave her a quick peck back, then nodded to let go. We all separated, Gaster stepped back, bowed, said bye quickly, then ran off up the stairs. Toriel laughed and hugged me closely. 

“For someone so intelligent, it takes very little to get him flustered.” I chuckled and rubbed her back softly.

“Yeah, he’s always been like that. Usually a bit more so, honestly.” 

“Well, I like him. He’s a good scientist. Maybe he’ll be more relaxed once he finishes this.”

“Maybe. It’ll be a hard few months, though.”

“I believe in him. He seems like he’s checked to make sure everything will work fifty times.”

“I think he said he does it fifty-three times, he likes prime numbers.” Toriel laughed as she leaned back to look me in the eyes.

“Of course he does. Now, let’s get back home, I’m getting hungry.”

“Come to mention it, I am too. You wouldn’t happen to have a specialty for me?” I raised an eyebrow, smiling. She smirked back and kissed me quickly.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, Gorey…” She paused, then pulled away from me quickly. “I’ll race you home. First one there picks dinner.”

“Ooh, so it’s a bet now?” I smirked back and wiped the hair out of my face. “I accept. Ready, set… go!” Toriel gasped as I ran off up the stairs. 

“Hey! No fair!” She laughed and ran up behind me, the two of us sprinting off towards home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am... so sorry this took so long lol. I got busy, and did other stuff, and wasn't sure what to write, but, hey! It's done! Gaster and Toriel are nerds bonding over nerd stuff while Asgore is like "Yay friends!" 
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated! They make me feel nice!


End file.
